2008 February
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
by George Appiah
I’ve been laughing my heart out for the past hour, thanks to a great insulting tool I’ve discovered. Yep you read correctly… even insults can make my day! Just visit The Shakespearean Insulter and get insulted! You’ll be greeted with one big insult — a quotation from one of Shakespeare’s works. And if that’s not enough for you, just click on “Insult Me Again” for more Shakespearean insults.
Here are a couple insults, along with the original Shakespeare’s books in which they’re taken from:
- [Your] brain is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage. — As You Like It!
- Thou art so leaky that we must leave thee to thy sinking. — Anthony and Cleopatra
- There’s no room for faith, truth, nor honesty in this bosom of thine. It is all filled up with guts and midriff. — Henry IV, part I
- Thou subtle, perjur’d, false, disloyal man! — The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Thou wert best set thy lower part where thy nose stands. — All’s Well That Ends Well
Go get insulted by Shakespeare now.
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
by George Appiah
Above is my friend Cyril Mettle, and his pretty little naughty sister — Eileen Elsie Mettle. No, he’s NOT dead. He just packed out. Of course last time I checked, both of us were as straight as the long wooden TV poles protruding out of people’s houses at my village — and we both knew we were going to, at some point, find pretty little things each and… and go our separate ways with out little things… to have a whole lot of kids and live forever after. Or somthine like that. At least I though so.
But having lived together for such a long time, his moving out didn’t go without a scratch on this achy breaky little heart of mine. Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs, like all lovers friends do. But what would life be without these?
And I’ve always dismissed this feeling of emptiness that creeps in every now and then — making believe everything is ok, and telling lies to the only person I’ve become accustomed to (and comfortable with) lying to — myself. That is, until the next time when this emptiness creeps in again.
Hasta mañana, gool ‘ole friend, Cyril Mettle, hasta mañan.
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
by George Appiah
If you’ve been reading about the struggles that I’ve been sharing here recently on this blog, let me tell you this is nothing new. I’ve been in in constant $h1t$ nearly all my life, often too personal for any one to comprehend, and often through no fault of mine. The above photo brings to mind three years of enduring pleasure in pain.
From January 1994 to December 1996, I had my secondary education at Fijai Secondary School in Secondi (NOT Takoradi, FWIW!) in the Western Region of Ghana. While at school, the entire year group was sent home and later made to sign a bond of “good behaviour”, for whatever crime I never got myself to understand. And our final exam, the (then) Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), was cancelled nationwide, and we had to re-write the whole damn thing again.
But I digress. I just wanted to share this great photo of my friends, which I found today… taken over a decade ago back at Fijai Secondary School. From back to front, left to right: Fritz Williams, Moses Bentil, William Ayitevi, Emmanuel Insaidoo, Cyril Mettle, Gershon Worwu, [psss... can't remember this guy's name], Tsemeng, Maranatha Acquaye, and Manfred Amissah.
Where am I? Of course I’m not in the photo, but looking at this squad, I couldn’t be too far from the scene. Either I shot the photo, or I stood aside and opted to be out of the photo (the latter being more like it).
Guys… where are you all? George misses you all, dearly.
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
by George Appiah
If you see an angel or a group of angels flying too close to ground, you can be sure they’re after me. Yes, it’s me against the angels yet again. This is not how I planned this life to be at all.
Can’t say anything now, but… suffice it to say I’m now fully convinced that whenever I make a conscious decision to move on in this little life of mine, all the angels in heaven (or wherever they are!) line up against me. But why? Just to test my pulses?
Anyone’s got an electronic copy of CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters: Letters From A Senior To A Junior Devil to pass along? Me think I need this book.
[photo credits: Ana Jine @ Flickr]
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
by George Appiah
For most of yesterday, besides meeting a couple of really interesting people, I was flirting around with my new found love - my new Apple MacBook. So far things have been surprisingly easy-going between the two of us.
The biggest issue I’m grappling with now is how to quickly UN-LEARN my PC habits accumulated over the years. And I think I’m doing such a great job at that, being being the nerd I am. Here are some of the surprises I’ve been dealing with:
Unboxing and Plugging: After I unboxed the baby and inspected everything inside the box, I took the beautiful power adapter and looked all round the computer searching for where to plug it in. Before I could think “this must be it”, I felt this pull, and BAM! - the thing plugged itself in! No kidding, the damn connector plugged itself into the computer! At this point I started thinking: this Apple thing must be damn good — I’ve never been treated like an idiot like this before 
(get the gist?).
Anyway, I pushed the power button to start the baby. After a few clicks I was up and running with my user account, and the baby politely asked for my permission to connect to the WiFi in the room.
But it seemed like something was missing. Where is the right mouse button? Actually Macs have “right-click” functionality … except there’s no right mouse button — there’s just one mouse button! The “right-click” menu is, you go CTRL+Click. Apple must have a design philosophy behind this, but I’ve not had made time to read on this yet. Trouble is, I keep clicking on the right side of the single button and waiting for something to happen.
The Control (Win) / Command (Mac) thingy: Back in the PC environment, many keyboard commands and shortcuts are done with the control key plus some other characters (eg. CTRL+A - for select all, CTRL+C - to copy, CTRL+P - to Print, etc). There’s something similar in the world of Macs too, except this is the COMMAND key. But here’s the thing: There’s CONTROL key in addition to this COMMAND key, and the Command key is in the wrong position :-). So as you’ll expect, I keep hitting FUNCTION+something, and always getting the wrong results.
Installing & Uninstalling Applications: I’m yet to read on the RIGHT way to install applications. Sure, I’ve installed a bunch of applications already, but it seemed so easy that… I’m left thinking… there has to be something else I’m not doing. How can Apple take me to be such an idiot that they’d make things so easy to do round here?
It’s already Sunday morning, and I’ve not had any sleep within the past 48 hours. So I’m off to catch some sleep now. More love stories tomorrow.
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
by George Appiah
I’m so full of life now, thanks to a brand new love I’ve found. I now have a spanky yanky pretty little brand new girl in my life: pretty and prim — but not too slim; with heavenly eyes — and just the right size; very smart … and she just can’t ever be bothered by any of those silly things I do.
She’s from the city of Appleland, the tribe of MacBooks. Vital stats: white, Intel breed 2.2GHz processor, 1G RAM, 120GB storage… and all the usual excellente goodies of the Apple MacBook tribe. But I’ve not been able to find a cool enough name for her yet. So why don’t you suggest a name for my new Apple MacBook?
Monday, February 4th, 2008
by George Appiah
If you visited this website more than once last week, you would have met a completely different website on each visit. Life, indeed, has been twisting me in all directions over the past two years — and this website, my principal medium of expression, has loyally been following along in each new direction I turn.
I’d like to thank all of you my regular and long time readers and friends who have stood by me all through it all. Here are a couple of updates:
For some really long term plans (long term = few weeks down the line!)… I’ve moved the blog (which will henceforth be called the journal ) away from the homepage into a sub-directory — http://GeorgeAppiah.com/journal/. But no sweat … everything is tightly integrated, and there are links on both the top horizontal menu and on the left sidebar to take you there.
I’ve also drastically reduced the “blogging load” on me. I’ve sold off most of the blogs I’ve been authoring for some sweet little bucks, and I’ve given away others as gifts. Over the past 3 years, I’ve authored and sold (or abandoned) blogs spanning such vast topics as renewable energy, nude art, wifi, lucid dreaming, web development, country music, digital photography, computer history, fairy tales, oh my!
Anyway, I’m currently focused on two primary websites, which I’m going to turn into a real business to support my intended nomadic life. Here they are:
- http://www.Ghana-Travel-Guide.com: I don’t need to explain what this is about. Do I?
- http://www.GeorgeAppiah.com: In addition to this blog (which is going to get a lot more attention from this point on), I’m building lots of practical, how-to tech guides to help you wonderful folks out there. More about that later.
If you visit these two websites, you’ll observe they both spot the same basic layout and design. That’s by choice. I’m in the process of registering an LLC in Delaware, US. Why am I registering a business in US and not in Ghana where I live? Let’s reserve that for a series of posts later on
And it seems I still love hacking cellular networks, and I’m likely going to take a second Masters degree in wireless communication engineering this autumn at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden. Yes… tuition is completely free, but sorry… deadline for admission into Swedish public universities was the first of February.
More updates later. Love you all.
Monday, February 4th, 2008
by George Appiah
If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been silent for quite some time, it’s because of this (Plenty of Fish) and that (Hot or Not). Just kidding. Ok, I was only taking one quick look, and this “SOSEXXII” girl’s profile caught my attention, and I ended up spending the rest of the night wandering about looking for plenty of fish that may be hot or not :-).
So who’s this SOSEXXII girl? Here we go:
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About Me:
I am a 1980’s sporty model companion whom has been custom-made in the beautiful turks & caicos islands for only one owner at a time. Few similar models of my type still exist. Road tested, and a perfect blend of old school style and new school flavor. With Beautiful Eyes, Full Lips & Flourish Skin… this smooth, sexy ride offers ample room & comfort for the right owner. Detailed: Stylish, Sensual, Sophisticated & loaded w/ needed accessories. Some general TLC required for a possible lifetime warranty, extremely reliable if cared for properly. Premium sound system, stimulative conversation, & an attentive listener. Offers the ultimate Security System. Appropriate for formal and casual outings. Offers cruise and mood control, extremely fun to drive and easy to handle. Guaranteed to compliment your lifestyle. Inquire now for an instant inspection. No purchase necessary, no charges or fees to inquire. Intimacy may possibly accrue during courtship but is not due unless both parties are in full agreement. If you are interested in a acquiring a full inspection then send me an email.
NO PHOTO = NO RESPONSE. I like knowing who I’m talking to. Thanks
P.S. IF U EMAIL ME & I DON’T ANSWER WITHIN A WEEK (DON’T KEEP BUGGING ME) IT MEANS THAT I’M NOT INTERESTED IN U PERIOD…
First Date:
I look forward to the possibility of finding someone with culture and class that notices the little things in life and can make me laugh… NOTE: players & people who plan is to hide behind the computer screen & chat everyday need not apply.
Qualities I look for in a man would be honesty, intelligence, sense of humor, a wild side (not crazy), being drop dead gorgeous wouldn’t hurt either lol’s & PLZ HAVE SOME INTEGRITY.
Mail Settings (To message SOSEXXII you MUST meet the following criteria.)
Age between 23 and 83
Live in United States
You must have a picture to contact this user.
Must not be looking for Hang Out
Must not be looking for Talk/E-mail
Must not be looking for Other Relationship
Must not be looking for Intimate Encounter
Must not be looking for Activity Partner
Must not do drugs
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It’s no surprise SOSEXXII appears on 95 members’ favorites lists (at time of writing), when most folks have less than 10… although I must admit the door is pretty widely open here: she’s looking for men between 23 - 83!
Bottom line, whatever you’re doing… do whatever it takes to stand out from the cloud. Find that unique selling proposition (USP) that sets you or your business apart from the competition, and you’re sure to attract a loyal following.
Have you got any interesting “differentiating” story to share? Don’t be shy… say something.
