Sinclair & Costa

The year that passed

2012-01-23T15:55:00.001+02:00

Time to sort of start 2012 from a blog point of view. So I will try to sum up what 2011 was from my very personal point of view. On the world stage almost too much happened, from the "Arab spring" revolutions to the Euro come crashing down on the back of debtridden countries. In the US the lawmakers and the president could basically not agree on anything but to disagree, thereby worsening an

Suddenly they are so weak and in poor health...

2011-06-08T12:15:00.001+02:00

So they finally "found" Ratko Mladic, also known as "the butcher of Srebenica", after 16 years. It pleases me to see that the world increasingly offers less and less safe hideouts to warcriminals, terrorists and fallen dictators! One thing that fascinates me when these persons are either brought to court, questioned or in house arrest or whatever is - they all suddenly are very ill, frail persons

Zimbabwe among the top 5 countries on Earth

2011-05-17T12:10:00.001+02:00

Yes - actually. And not in any "bad" way either (like when we broke the world record for inflation...) but, at least as I see it, in a positive way.According to Pingdom, a web monitoring company, who got their figures from StatCounter (as you may understand is a "hit counter system" for internet) Zimbabwe is the 4th largest linux desktop user country!? I will admit that I am more than a little

The Hippo Slalom Canoe trip and our marriage

2011-05-03T12:56:00.003+02:00

Over 10 years ago I did a 4 day, 3 nights canoe trip down Zambesi river that I still remember as awesome. Last month an old friend from Sweden, Peter, and his son Victor arrived and I had again booked for this experience. They arrived Sunday 17 April and did not really have much time to settle in as next morning we were off to Makuti turnoff up in Kariba to meet up with Natureways. I can

African airlines experiences

2011-04-14T14:34:00.001+02:00

I have a feeling that if I go over my various emails and notes from the last 10 years I will find that I have spent altogether between 1 and 2 unplanned and unwanted weeks at airports or hotels due to the sometimes glaring incompetence of various African airlines.I mean like arriving at the airport to be told the plane has already left "we rescheduled but called everyone". No you obviously did

New computer, fresh headaches

2011-04-05T13:20:00.001+02:00

As you who read this reasonably often will know already I work with computers, computer systems and information systems.From my point of view Linux is the best choice of operating system and laptop is what I must use. Laptop because I travel a lot, a "netbook" does not quite cut the mustard, ever so smart phones do not either as the infrastructure in the countries I work does not really offer

Noticias from Mozambique

2011-02-18T14:47:00.001+02:00

Mozambique as country fascinates me. It is in many ways a very challenging place and the farther you get from the capital Maputo the more challenging. OK I have not been to Pemba or Isla Mozambique, truth to be told, but otherwise that is my experience.Mozambiquans can be very friendly, jovial and helpful when not in uniform or holding any official position. When in uniform or holding some sort

A Barbershop in Lilongwe

2011-01-07T08:39:00.001+02:00

In Lilongwe, a short walk from the Lilongwe Hotel (now Sunbird Lilongwe) along the road down towards Old Town lies a small barbershop with 3 chairs. Inside it you always find 3 men plying their trade, 2 indians and a black. They separate the clients accordingly, the indians take care of indian and white, the black of blacks. I assume this has to do with the very different texture of hair.

December thoughts

2010-12-05T09:20:00.000+02:00

It is December and the rains have started in Zimbabwe. This means that the temperatures cool down a bit, most welcome, and that all plants, lawns etc is flourishing. Our garden suddenly looks fantastic!Just woke up to a cool morning with a slight drizzle and decided to listen to Bach's Christmas Oratorium as we are getting into the festive season. Spent yesterday afternoon and evening in

Updated website

2010-10-10T09:36:00.000+02:00

As you all should know I have for many years operated a consultancy. Even if this is at the moment "on hold" due to my work I still intend to keep it operational. Part of that is to keep a website going. I have, after much experimenting with different solutions, totally revamped the Orion Consulting website:www.orionweb.infoI am now using the Drupal open source Content Management System as "

The towing experience

2010-10-06T22:09:00.001+02:00

As I said in the earlier post - our car died some 30 km from Mana Pools camping site. We were towed in to camp by another friendly gamecounter.Going back our friends André and Chris towed us to the entrance gate, some 50 km. As the towing band we used had snapped 4 times and the remaining 35 km to the main road is much worse than the part we had managed we had to leave it there. Back in Harare we

Mana Pools 2010

2010-10-04T15:55:00.000+02:00

Here a link to Mana Pools 2010 annual Game countThe count was brilliant with the "small" exception that our car died on the way in to the camp... and what happened in connection with that is worth it's own story but frankly I don't feel ready to write about it yet.

Advertising in Zimbabwe

2010-09-20T21:45:00.001+02:00

Zimbabwe companies are sometimes very very good at advertising. Sadly the delivery far from always live up to the promises in the ads.A favorite for a long time is mobile network provider Econet "Inspired by the best", "internet where you are" etc. This plastered just about everywhere from a provider that delivers such poor service, especially on the "3G" side, that an anti-Econet Facebook page

On leave at last

2010-09-01T13:36:00.001+02:00

In some ways I am sadly unorganized. Events like Easter, Xmas and other annual holidays always seem to take me by surprise. Another side of that is that I sometimes completely fail to plan for work leave. This also has to do with working as a consultant for many years, you simply take leave when you can.Anyhow, something happened that made me realise exactly how tired and worn down I was. With

Maybe 14 wives is (at least) one too many

2010-08-11T16:55:00.001+02:00

You may not be aware of it but polygamy is still widely practiced and legal in many countries in southern and eastern Africa. There is a lively debate going on both among women and men over the virtues and problems with this kind of marriage.Most would however agree that 14 wives is overdoing it. And that is how many wives King Mswati III of Swaziland has. This has got to do partially with an old

Businessmen?

2010-08-10T17:12:00.001+02:00

For the past month or so many in Zimbabwe have followed with fascination the case of a certain Mr. Temba Mliswa.He is one of those "businessmen" who rose to riches during the land reform / farm invasions in the early 2000 years. Currently he is in remand jail since about a month. He has been rearrested 3 times about 5 minutes after getting bail approved by the courts.I quote from online reports:"

Musings on Malawi

2010-08-06T09:27:00.001+02:00

Spent a week in Malawi recently, in the capital Lilongwe to be more precise. Found some interesting political developments. For starters they have built a new Parliament building. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, they used to convene in the President's residence for historical reasons. But the building itself... think USA Capitol Hill, only larger. No, I am not joking, according to reports it

One upgrade too many

2010-07-27T11:53:00.001+02:00

My life naturally consists of lots of upgrading and testing software on computers. Not least my own where I often want to test something out.Well, you can go too far... a couple of weeks ago I decided to test a "release candidate" of the linux desktop environment KDE, version 4.5 RC2 to be more specfic.One thing that I suspect caused headaches later was that the upgrade was disrupted at least 2

Decisively wrong...

2010-07-05T08:14:00.001+02:00

Football, soccer, call it what you want. Unless you live on another planet you can not have missed that the World Cup is taking place "nextdoors" to Zimbabwe.I have in several comments stated that this is the cup of SouthAmerica, that Brasil or Argenting was going to win. Well, boy was I wrong.... Holland did what I did not believe them capable of and won against a Brazil that used tactics I

In the right place at the wrong time

2010-06-10T20:50:00.001+02:00

Seems I am constantly in the right place but at the wrong time lately. First I manage to be in Lusaka, Zambia when Brazil soccerteam comes to Zimbabwe to play a friendly warmup for the World Cup. The first time since 1980 a non-African team plays in Zimbabwe and only the 5th time Brazil plays an African team in the last 30 years. Now how much fun is that to miss being there?Back home for one day.

Reflections from Mozambique

2010-05-27T18:01:00.001+02:00

Am sitting at Lichinga Airport waiting for the plane to arrive. As this is Linhea Area Mozambique, LAM, noone has been able to say when I should check in but all agree on one thing: do not use the time written on the ticket. So I was number 2 to check in, almost 3 hours in advance. Just to be sure. That leaves time to do some "reflective thinking". Mozambique to me is (at least) 2 countries:

Hur dum kan man bli egentligen?

2010-05-24T10:09:00.001+02:00

För en gångs skull är det dags att skriva på svenska på bloggen. Helt enkelt för att jag inte orkar ens i hjärnan att översätta allt jag vill ha sagt. Ämnet har inte med mig att göra, tro det eller ej. Detta trots att kvällen igår blev ett undantag från dom där många trista hotellrumskvällarna. Jag gick och åt en mycket sen lunch och landade senare på Mundos (Globen ungefär i översättning) där

On the road again

2010-05-19T21:21:00.001+02:00

Am in Maputo, Mozambique. From here it will be Lichinga in the north of Moz. Then home to basically wash, iron and repack the clothes. Off to Lusaka in Zambia, then after returning off to Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwe. Phew.I really like Maputo, it is a "proper" city compared to most in southern/eastern Africa. A very vibrant, living city centre full of small shops, restaurants, cafés and such,

Harare International Festival of Arts

2010-05-02T10:31:00.001+02:00

Once a year the normally rather quiet Harare is transformed by HIFA to a really kicking place! As we living here in Zimbabwe are a bit starved on international entertainment during the rest of the year it is as "everyone" has to be there and enjoy.Saw Hothouse Flowers on Friday night, enjoyable and with a fantastic firework display at the end of the show. Got thoroughly "too tipsy" with friends

Positive posting

2010-04-23T12:21:00.000+02:00

As many of my posts over the last months have focused on various health problems I just thought I would do a positive update.I have managed to get to the gym 2 times this week. Admittedly, I am far from what I consider to be my normal standard but at least I CAN do it. Not since November last year I think I have been able enough.And I can take reasonably long walks! Yohoo! OK I again am very very

Launch photos

2010-04-23T12:20:00.000+02:00

Some photos from the launch at Tongogara:http://picasaweb.google.com/O.Sinclair/TongogaraTelecenterLaunch2010#

Successful launch

2010-04-19T16:20:00.001+02:00

First of all some complaining: following weekend after weekend tied to the sofa due to either sciatic, leg pains or lately surgery wound on the left foot I think I could have deserved a "mobile" weekend. That is when I go down with a flu and cough of a lifetime... So once more this a report from the sofa at 3 Ussher Close Harare.Since 2006 I have on and off worked with a project in Tongogara,

Pain and parenting

2010-03-28T18:59:00.001+02:00

Like most parents I have moments when I doubt that I am a reasonably good father and more or less loved by my kids. In all honesty though, most of the time I know that it is not true and whatever issues I might have are very far away from creating a situation where my 2 boys do not like or love me.Pain however is not a good companion to parenting, at least for me. I guess that people react

The sofa

2010-03-23T09:19:00.001+02:00

Am stuck on the sofa since Friday following surgery on the left foot. To be more precise, surgery inside the sole of the foot. And I can think of few more inconvenient places to have stitches etc as it effectively renders me immobile.It is tricky, most tiring and occasionally painful to move around. I am, of course, expected to keep it dry and reasonably clean, not so easy to achieve either in

Courtroom Comedy

2010-02-25T13:04:00.001+02:00

I just can not stop myself from commenting on this. The full story can be found at Zimbabwe Situation but in short the State has found an IT "expert witness" in the trial against Roy Bennett (MDC member with very strong support, hated by ZanuPF and supposed to be Dept. Minister of Agriculture, at the moment on trial for "treason").This expert was called in to give statements on the authenticity

Birthday bash

2010-02-23T13:51:00.001+02:00

During the weekend a certain president in a southern African country celebrated his 86th birthday. That is of course great for him and his family. However, for the majority of the citizens of the country in question it is nothing but prolonging the pain. The biggest obstacle to recovery of a once well working economy is spelled in the name of one old man. There are theories that he is in many

Tongogara comes online

2010-02-19T13:38:00.001+02:00

If you know a bit about Zimbabwe's history the name of Tongogara is known as one of the original freedom fighters. It is also the name of a local council nowadays, the Tongogara growth point. Since 2006 I have been involved in setting up a so-called Telecenter there. It has involved quite a bit of hard work and patience, more for the people involved in Tongogara than for me, as it involved

Heat, pains, phone and politics

2010-02-08T21:08:00.001+02:00

I am spending the week in Maputo setting up an accounting (well ERP actually) system for use here. And it is steaming HOT here! That kind of heat where your shirt is soaked after an hour or so and you have to take a shower after work when it starts to cool down. And the office has no aircon and no fans... Otherwise the sciatic nerve pain is sloooowly subsiding and I can now at least take

Boys starting school

2010-01-13T12:14:00.000+02:00

School started this week and for Eric it was his first day in Primary school. A VERY excited boy was ready to go nearly 2 hours before it was time to leave home. I realise that it will not last with this enormous enthusiasm.. but for now it feels good! Here a photo of him in his uniform outside Lusitania school where they both learn:

Is Bilbo a blogger?

2010-01-12T14:18:00.001+02:00

Just testing the newly installed Bilbo blogging tool, see Blogilo. Otherwise back at work and in full swing.Eric started primary yesterday, full of expectations and was basically ready to leave home more than an hour earlier than needed. Will post some photos later of our uniformed boys.For my part I by pure coincidence found a chiropractor and is now under treatment for the sciatic nerve problem

Doctors, pains and 3G

2009-12-15T13:59:00.000+02:00

Following visit to a rather useless "back doctor" who told me nothing I could not figure out myself I find I am still on and off in pain. Apparently a "pinched sciatic nerve" is (quote doctor) "tricky". As I said, nothing I could not figure out myself. It has become much better with a mixture of rest and a healthy dosis of exercise but some things makes it raise its rather ugly head. One of them

Back from Namibia

2009-11-16T15:52:00.001+02:00

Just returned from a week in Windhoek, Namibia. Well, it was more like a week in Safari Hotel and Conference Centre, Windhoek. Got out of there Friday afternoon after a very hectic and ambitious program during the INK4DEV week. Small is one impression of the City Centre (and that was all I managed) and squeaky clean. Quite a nice place but nothing for the "big city lovers" I think. Limped around

Home

2009-11-05T14:21:00.000+02:00

Boy does it feel good to be home in Harare... in serious need of "recharging batteries" for next trip. That will be to Windhoek, Namibia, a place I have never visited.So trying to relax but have tons of things to do.. so not so easy. For me the big news is a new release of Kubuntu, version 9.10, that looks good enough for me to upgrade my own (and other) computer from the 8.04 version I use now.

Third time lucky

2009-10-30T10:21:00.000+02:00

It took 3 attempts... to enter into Mozambique, Niassa province via the Chiponde (Malawi) - Mandimba (Mozambique) borderpost.Having driven to Lilongwe I managed to get visa with no other problems than the ATMs going on strike in the morning (it had rained...) and the Consulate not opening at 8 am as scheduled. "The man with the keys" had not arrived and staff + visitors patiently waited. After an

Mozambique borders revisited

2009-10-27T16:06:00.000+02:00

Crossing borders in Africa can be an adventure - and really tiresome. Started Sunday morning from Harare heading for Mangochi, Lake Malawi. Had not bothered with applying for visa at Mozambique embassy due to various reasons.Mistake. BIG mistake. For starters I think Mozambique Immigration are on a go-slow as it took the guy at Nyamapanda over 1 hour to process my visa. That included starting by

Sunday from hell

2009-09-21T07:41:00.000+02:00

Some days one should not wake up and/or leave the bed.The day started EARLY in order to catch the bloody 7.20 flight to Johannesburg and then continue to Maputo. That means waking up around 4.30 - 5 in order to shower, pack the last stuff and get to airport in time.Only to get to the car and find that it had been broken into and the speakers stolen. Plus a "nice" square hole in our garage "wall".

Really not very happy

2009-09-20T12:44:00.000+02:00

Life sometimes. For various reasons we were in Southafrica last weekend and then reclaimed VAT for whatever we shopped. To be reimbursed in O.R Tambo (Johannesburg) airport. Great. The only problem being that when I now went to the VAT refund place here (am at airport in question in other words) I am told it takes 8 - 10 weeks for the refund cheque to be ready... talk about trying to discourage

Computers and Mana Pools

2009-09-18T12:12:00.000+02:00

Just a comment on the sometimes somewhat weird world that happens to be my profession. As I work on my laptop that has Kubuntu Linux as OS I sometimes need to run various versions of Windows for support reasons. I do this by running something called VirtualBox - an environment where I can run other systems "inside" my Kubuntu main OS. That way I have Windows XP Pro, Windows Server 2003 and

Thoughts on Africa

2009-08-24T11:06:00.000+02:00

Interesting article from BBC on Africa and poverty: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8215083.stmIn the same vein Barack Obama has made some statements:http://tinyurl.com/kr44uchttp://tinyurl.com/l4k75oA Zimbabwean friend of mine commented "it takes a goffal to call a spade a spade".

Not much to write about

2009-08-21T11:24:00.000+02:00

I was actually asked why I have not updated the blog for some time. Well at least that means that it is being read by one person!I guess the reason is that sometimes life just sort of goes on. The winter in Zimbabwe has been continued awfully cold, good thing we have plenty of firewood after taking down 6 dead trees.No new house woes except for a TV gone dead. Constant power blackouts and surges

Citizen Sinclair

2009-07-13T10:56:00.000+02:00

As noted in an earlier posting I, by mistake, became citizen of Zimbabwe a while ago. This did not bother me. Until last Friday.I had just gotten a new passport as the old one was running out of pages (they last around a year with all my zigzaggin around Africa). Then I took the time on Friday to go to Immigration and transfer my residence permit.An extremely bored-looking woman asked for my ID

Cold cold cold

2009-07-03T11:44:00.000+02:00

Harare and Zimbabwe is experiencing a record cold winter. The Herald (of absolute truth) reports night temperatures down to -12 in parts of the country and that cattle has died!That is NOT the best time for your geyser to die on you so of course that is what happened. On top of that it seems every good plumber has left Zimbabwe so what we keep finding are the guys who:Learnt by looking at what

Find for the handy car enthusiast

2009-05-19T16:24:00.001+02:00

Found this on the streets of Harare some time ago:Anyone interested I can find out if this classic Volvo P1800 sportscar is for sale? You DO have to be the handy, fixing mechanic (mad) type though...

Lichinga notes

2009-05-09T12:10:00.000+02:00

Back in Lichinga, Niassa province, Mozambique. A place where very few things work as planned or expected. Internet one of them, terribly unreliable and poor quality. TDM "Bandalarga", more like Bandapico if you ask me, is running a series of TV adverts where people get "blown away" by the high speed internet. Sure. More like that old ad where someone falls asleep in front of the computer waiting

Zimbabwe status report

2009-04-27T13:08:00.003+02:00

A personal such, of course. But despite the obvious problems the Government of National Unity (GNU) is facing and also despite the equally obvious internal "tug of war" inside said GNU (evident by orders and contraorders, sometimes on the same day, ongoing farm invasions,unilateral decisions etc) there is a cautious feeling of optimism in the air.The shops are almost back to normal (meaning how

Albania

2009-03-12T11:53:00.003+02:00

Back from a short visit to Albania, some reflections on that country. For starters it was my first visit and I have not been in the Balkan region for over 20 years. Well before they decided (or whatever happened) to disintegrate Yugoslavia into x number of midget states during a terrible war in other words.For those who know their history Albania was a communist state post second world war, ruled

Do I look gullible?

2009-03-11T15:13:00.001+02:00

Written 8 March:Am spending the day at Rome Airport, no fun at all. OK I have a day-room at Hilton Hotel so at least I have somewhere to rest. However: the room is nice and designed and so on but NOTHING comes with it, not even a bottle of water. Or internet access. Tea and coffe, end of story. And the prices for food in their restos are so mad I simply walked over to the airport to get a

The Italian Experience

2009-03-01T20:48:00.002+02:00

There is a movie by that name. There is now also one of those "I will never forget" experiences of my life I will label the same.It does not happen very often that I get completely mad angry and "blow the top" in public outside the closed circuit of family and friends. Normally I label myself as probably a bit too "timid" and patient. Today's encounter with italians in general and Alitilia

Governments

2009-02-13T11:15:00.002+02:00

New year, new governments! Like "everyone else" I watched Obama swearing in and am following the new administration with keen interest.And finally Zimbabwe seems set to get a government that is "almost elected", supposedly being sworn in today. Though news speak of RG already presented a list way too big for the number of ministries they were allocated. I am not sure that "interesting" is the

Falling apart

2008-12-04T13:58:00.002+02:00

The heading is not about me but Zimbabwe the country. Since I last wrote on the so-called "historic" powersharing agreement basically no progress in implementing it has been made. What on Earth made them sign the paper without first having allocated ministries and powers goes beyond me, I know I never would have.So while the discussions drag on Zim is at an accelerating rate becoming a

Zimbabwe, Mana Pools game count

2008-09-24T10:49:00.002+02:00

It has been quite some time since I wrote anything here. During that time Zimbabwe has seen the introduction of a new currency and the signing of a powersharing agreement supposedly leading to a Government of National Unity (GNU).Well, they only forgot to sort out who was going to be allocated what ministries. So while they are trying to sort that one out it is "business as usual" - meaning

What happens now?

2008-07-22T16:04:00.002+02:00

Finally we see some positive developments on the political arena in Zim. If you have missed it: yesterday the leaders of all 3 involved political parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding that is seen as the start for negotiations in earnest to solve the political crisis.The rather short and to the point text can be found here .People here are veeery cautiously optimistic. It would not be the

Life

2008-07-14T11:22:00.003+02:00

If you don't understand that life in Zimbabwe is incredibly tough at the moment then I don't know what planet you live on. I am not even referring to the ongoing violence that reportedly takes place mainly in rural areas but just the everyday life.Contrary to what one might think it is not amusing to be a trillionaire.It is rather depressing actually. We are now in a situation where neither the

Techno blog

2008-06-11T16:04:00.004+02:00

Just have to be a bit "over the top" about how well the latest version of Kubuntu is working. Now I have also added Virtualbox and can run Windows XP and Vista within my Linux environment without reboots etc., good for support to those who are using those (yes, I know they are the majority by far....)And that means I can use one of the few apps I have really been missing, Float's Mobile Agent, to

Photos from the Kenya - Zimbabwe drive

2008-04-30T10:37:00.001+02:00

Just a few photos taken while in Kenya and on the drive back to Harare, Zimbabwephotos

5 days driving through East-Central Africa

2008-04-29T13:09:00.004+02:00

Back in Harare after a drive with both ups and downs from Nairobi, Kenya to Harare via Tanzania and Zambia. Round 3700 - 4000 km in 5 days..I think I can safely say that we experienced both the best and the worst sides of this type of long travels and the way people can act towards you. The traffic situation in Nairobi is the worst I have ever experienced and I will be happy if I never have to

Election fever, waiting and zimflation

2008-04-03T14:50:00.003+02:00

If you have not noticed that Zimbabwe held elections for Parliament, Senate, Local council and President last Saturday you must either be off this planet or on a "no media for months"-diet.So we now stand in a historical scenario where the ruling Zanu has lost the majority in Parliament, yet there is no celebration going on, no jubilations on the streets etc. Why? Because everyone knows that the

Some times the going is tough

2008-03-02T17:06:00.004+02:00

Have been quiet for quite some time but have not felt any inspiration for one reason or the other. Survived a nice Xmas and New Year's though so am back now!It has been a bit tough lately, is like a lot of things seem to be happening that are negative. Maybe I need to do something about my karma, if anyone remembers that old way of thinking.My grandmother died early February, 93 years old. She

Lost during transport

2007-12-13T01:40:00.000+02:00

I am referring to me, not luggage though I was more than a bit nervous that would happen.Let me tell you one thing about driving in Johannesburg: do not take a wrong turn, do not get lost (that was two). At least not without a cellphone, money on your phone account and someone to call who can help you out.I was on my way from Centurion, small place between Pretoria (Tshwane) and the airport in

The year of the virus

2007-12-06T03:33:00.001+02:00

For me the year 2007 will be the year the virus became a real problem. I am not talking of any human or animal virus (HIV or bird-flu) but computer virus. Despite putting more efforts and money in anti-virus software, firewalls, spam tools etc to protect the users I support and work with I have never seen such a flood of malicious and difficult to eradicate virus as this year. Quite a few times I

The year of Linux as Windows replacement?

2007-11-14T05:47:00.001+02:00

For those who for various reasons do not want to think "out of the box" or who sees Windows as "inevitable" or "it comes with the PC so it is free" the following could be interesting reading:Wal-Mart in USA sells out 10 000 Linux $200 PCs in 2 weeksDell is now selling PCs with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled and Lenovo (old IBM) has announced they are going to sell PCs with Suse Linux.For those who

Meltingpot in Maputo

2007-11-04T00:03:00.000+02:00

Seems it now is more of a monthly thing to write somethng on the blog but the truth of the matter (as I see it at least) is that I work and/or travel to an extent where the remaining energy has to be spent on family life rather than more computer time.As things go I am in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, as I blog this and for the first time in a very long time happen to have a weekend "in between"

Telephone & Bluetooth craze

2007-10-10T02:19:00.000+02:00

Instead of writing about travels and logistical nightmares a few lines about our ongoing "cellphone madness" - or maybe I should say mine.After Mia's very nice W300i arrived I inherited her "old" Z520i. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever but I guess the old "I also want" got me in it's grip. I got the chance when I heard that friend Anna T was going to Sweden for a short visit and bought a

A wedding and other news

2007-09-21T02:39:00.000+02:00

It has again been a long time. Seems this is becoming more of a monthly habit than anything "daily". Well the excuse is travelling and more travelling.Because of business travel I missed the wedding of Mia's brother Anjos and his (now) wife Dadirayi that took place in Bulawayo. Here some photos.Otherwise the "drama" was that I managed to secretly buy Mia a new phone in Sweden, a SonyEricsson

Just an update

2007-08-22T02:53:00.001+02:00

It has been over a month since anything was written on this blog. There are reasons for that, I have been travelling extensively and spent time both in Mozambique and Zambia. We are all OK though a bad bout of flu hit me, Eric and Mia. It hit a lot of people actually. August has been unusually cold (still cold nights and mornings) and maybe that has something to do with it. Otherwise we now live

Dar es Salaam July -07

2007-07-19T02:54:00.000+02:00

After a couple of hectic months we had a week-long break in Dar es Salaam recently. As usual we had a good time and it was great to catch up with friends, hit the beach, eat plenty seafood and enjoy the nice temperature (Harare has been freezing cold since June). Did not lack drama though. Second night, sleeping over at Darrin's house, Mia woke me up saying she couldn't breathe proper and we had

Terrible twins?

2007-05-31T02:22:00.000+02:00

Life has been on the hectic side during the month of May. Have been to Lusaka, Nairobi and Maputo for different reasons and then of course the "normal" work and life in Zimbabwe.I won't tire you with yet another "Air Zimbabwe" disaster description but yes, there was one. >24 hours this time. Stayed with friends Tom and Susan in Kenya. One morning Susan discovered the men had put on more or less

Just an update

2007-04-30T01:18:00.000+02:00

Have been quiet on the blog for some time. A combination of travels and more travels, visitors and now a rather bad bout of flu that I am still struggling with.We have had numerous long powercuts, 2 of them even up to 2 days, so the generator has been very thoroughly tested. It is such a relief to just start the thing and be able to do most things we normally want to do such as having access to

Using Linux to save a Windows PC

2007-03-29T08:55:00.003+02:00

Have spent some days rescuing PCs that have not been maintained or protected against virus for months. One had over 1000 virus infected files and could barely start but I got it back to life.Now today (Wednesday) I got a really tricky case. Whatever virus had hit this PC shut down every program you tried to start or run, including installing any antivirus software or running any software to

Overdesigning a good car

2007-03-29T08:55:00.001+02:00

Have just driven the latest Toyota Hilux pickup up through Mozambique, Malawi and then Mozambique again and am more than a little bit disappointed.Why? Well not because of the design or the engine, both really nice (even if the design is a bit over the top) but because it feels really unstable to drive on bad roads. And somehow I thought the type of car Hilux is was supposed to be at its best on

A tired but happy couple in Polokwane

2007-03-20T15:45:00.000+02:00

Just thought I would put some photos of us after a looong nightdrive and a day of shopping in Polokwane. This is after shower and a bit of rest though, the "before" pictures will never be shown! Notice the somewhat tired eyes of mr. Sinclair...

Mad trip to SA and back

2007-03-19T15:03:00.000+02:00

We took a trip to South Africa and back last weekend. The "mad" part lies in achieving the trip in one weekend! Meaning we drove down during Friday night and arrived in Polokwane/Pietersburg around 9 am Saturday morning. Took turns driving down but nevertheless not so fresh.Spent Saturday shopping around for a good generator (the main reason for going) and other items such as clothes (yes me too.

A tradition gone wrong

2007-02-15T14:16:00.000+02:00

In case someone didn't notice (living in the Gobi desert or such) yesterday was Valentine's Day. While I think it is a nice idea and tradition to express your apprecation for a loved one in some "extra" way this has clearly gone overboard of late.Examples: a school here in Zimbabwe got the idea that the students should come dressed in red/white and carry flowers (I am not saying which school,

First day in school

2007-01-10T12:09:00.000+02:00

Just a photo of a very proud (and rather "stiff") Bradley in his school uniform getting ready for his first day in school! So far he is finding it very exciting (2 days...) and that is of course good. Eric was more than jealous and insisted on wearing a hat too. Mayhem broke out when he realised he was not going! Luckily he started Montessori preschool today so now both have to get ready in

Xmas Eve

2007-01-02T15:12:00.000+02:00

Just thought I would put up a photo of the party that this celebrated Christmas Eve "Swedish style" at friend Göran's house. As you can see we were quite a few awaing the arrival of Santa. Straight below me and Mia sits Eric who today managed to lock himself inside the toilet at home. Took me the better part of an hour to get home, persuade him to yank the key so I could push it out and then

Christmas coming up

2006-12-21T11:45:00.000+02:00

End of this year is rapidly approaching and I am signing off from work in a few hours. Then of course there is still x number of items to shop and things to do before we can actually sit back and relax and say "finally Xmas lets enjoy and take it easy".FINALLY all business with the borehole is finalised. Water was found, pump has been installed. It was, as so often happens, a loooong story but

Corner Bar & Water

2006-11-14T14:59:00.000+02:00

A typical weekend scene from Corner Bar in Dar es Salaam (copyright Maria Wall). This famous waterhole (also called Royal Chole Road Country Club, Losers Corner etc) has reportedly been cleared out together with all other container shops and bars along the same stretch. It won't be the same next time we come to Dar. Other news; we finally managed to sell the Ford Taurus in which Eric was born

Kids Birthday party

2006-10-19T18:44:00.000+02:00

Some friends want more photos so here is one from our recent party for the boys. As can be seen Bradley can hardly wait until Hellen has cut Spidermans face into pieces! Well he is also helping as best he can. Of Eric you see a piece of t-shirt... also in the photo is Sheilla and little Albert and leftmost is Wedlyn, Hellen's younger sister. Otherwise working late trying to fix X number of

Jakaranda trees in bloom

2006-10-13T10:09:00.000+02:00

By popular demand a photo of jakaranda trees in full bloom. Interestingly they have all the flowers first and after that the leaves come and they "turn green". Harare has hundreds of these and really look fantastic in September-October. What else in life? Well busy arranging birthday bash for our boys tomorrow (I decided to do it same time since Eric is not really worried/aware and Xmas comes

In the very very copyright protected world

2006-10-05T15:09:00.000+02:00

According to this article on CNET Microsoft is going to make sure that Windows Vista will run with "reduced functionality" if its license can not be validated online. As I have already had problems with this attitude of overzealous (in my opinion) license system that hampers reinstallation and moving of licenses I think MS is taking another step in the wrong direction. My move to Kubuntu Linux

Finally Linux

2006-10-02T14:45:00.000+02:00

Well, after lots of talking and thinking and testing and planning I have finally switched to Linux on my main laptop Dell Inspiron 500M. Actually I have set it up to dualboot with Windows XP but have not been in XP for over a week. Not since I got dial-up working, that was a bit of a trick. So I am now running Kubuntu (www.kubuntu.org) and using Kontact (a pim), Firefox and OpenOffice. All

2006-10-02T14:24:00.000+02:00

A photo of Bradley and Eric at Blue Banana restaurant during the week. Went there for good food but also because they have a play-room with minder. Only that it is not staffed Mondays and Tuesdays. Of course this was a Tuesday... We have otherwise hired the services of a water diviner to see if we can sink a borehole. This man comes recommended from others who says he was spot on about the

We are alive...

2006-09-28T14:19:00.000+02:00

Well, it has certainly been a very long time since anyone wrote anything on this blog. No, it is not that nothing is happening or that something really bad has happened or likewise.It is just that combinations of lots of work, travels and other commitments and incidents have led to a situation where I have not felt like spending 1 minute extra in front of the computer after everything else has

Lilongwe experience

2006-08-20T12:10:00.000+02:00

Have spent almost a week in Lilongwe, Malawi. One thing I have noticed is that Malawi is very different from other places in the region in some aspects. For starters; driving. It is probably the most "non-aggressive" driving experience you can think of. Which actually makes me a bit stressed rather than opposite. Am not used to commuter bus drivers who behave, a general tempo in town of around 40

Exploding notebook batteries...

2006-08-20T11:45:00.000+02:00

Well, for those of you who follow IT news this is not really news. For others it might be very important news. Especially if you have a Dell notebook computer!For some time now there have been reports that some Dell notebooks have very literally burst into flames, almost exploded actually. The problem was traced to a certain type of battery, manifactured by Sony for Dell. Dell is now recalling/

It never rains

2006-07-31T10:52:00.000+02:00

..but pours is what they say. Power was restored Thursday evening and then disappeared again Friday morning around 9 am!! This time a tree had fallen over the wires a couple of houses from us. The good thing was that plenty of houses were affected, the bad thing that this type of fault is dealt with by Mabvuko Depot that we know since before are sloooow in arriving.It was Saturday afternoon when

Powercuts here, powercuts there, powercuts everywhere...

2006-07-27T12:18:00.000+02:00

It has been a while, have been busy with work and what-what. July has been freezing cold and that has meant that the much predicted power shortage has hit Zimbabwe. A nice schedule for load-shedding was set up and publicised. It has never been followed. As usual. As of now we are experiencing more or less daily powercuts from as early as 6 am to lunchtime and sometimes in the evening. Just back

How to play soccer

2006-07-01T07:57:00.000+02:00

Completely "on spot" comment by Bradley yesterday as I was watching Germany - Argentina; "Today I was playing soccer with Matthew (his friend at Montessori preschool) and I was falling because that's what you do when you play soccer"He has obviously observed how the professionals behave when they play soccer...Above a photo of Bradley and Eric taken in April

Raising 2 boys

2006-06-28T11:46:00.000+02:00

It is an interesting and sometimes rather tiring experience to have 2 boys aged 5 and 2.5... Eric is now in a very strong "it is mine"-phase and that is a headache for his older brother who also wants to play with toys sometimes. Or be in the same chair/sofa/bed or something. Well, the few toys that survive more than a day or 2 that is. It is completely pointless to buy something that is not

Last post on World Cup

2006-06-28T11:40:00.000+02:00

For me a lot of the fun went out of the cup when Sweden were massacred by Germany and then Holland left after a scandalous game. Am still watching but not with the same interest. I guess we Swedes will now pin our hopes on Sven-Goran and England. The refereeing has been completely sub-standard though of if it is their instructions. Best example was of course the Holland - Portugal game but also

Winter and World Cup part III

2006-06-21T11:40:00.000+02:00

Still freezing here and all my Swedish friends are on about midsummer celebrations and how warm it is in Sweden and the rest of Europe. Good thing is that midsummer there means midwinter here so it should not be much worse... Watched Sweden - England with friend Mikael J at his house last night. Sore throats from shouting "no" and "yes" the whole game. Scary first half for Sweden, scary second

Winter and World Cup continues

2006-06-19T15:51:00.000+02:00

Well Sweden's first game did not make any of us gathered to watch happy. Long periods of rather sloppy play that Trinidad/Tobago actually had little problem to cope with. It was more fun to watch the game against Paraguay where they played much better even though it took almost 90 minutes before they finally scored. I was at home watching and likely woke up the whole neighbourhood with my scream

Winter & Soccer Fever

2006-06-09T14:55:00.000+02:00

Zimbabwe has been freezing cold for a while now, it is a bad winter really. Today is like the first day this week that I don't wear a jacket or sweater while I am working. Indoors. One thing that makes winter so cold here is the absolut nonsense standard of house-building.Otherwise (apart from >1000 % inflation) it is all about soccer here too now that the World Cup starts today. In spite of the

Dogs and the earth shakes again

2006-05-22T09:33:00.000+02:00

Following a rather long discussion on the mailinglist Grrringo I have posted a photo of our 2 dogs Mishi (the lighter female) and Scooby. I discovered that taking photos of dogs is not easy - either they are right up your face or running away. It took like 5 attempts before I managed to get this not very good shot. Last night the ground shook again, a light tremor or earthquake. This time we woke

Never a dull day

2006-05-15T09:39:00.000+02:00

You have to admit one thing with Air Zimbabwe, life is not boring when you use their services.Flying home on Saturday I was of course extra early to check-in at the airport. Actually I was the first one to do so. I was met by the same lady who the day before was trying her best to sort out the mess and she said "if there is business class on the plane I will upgrade you" and "we are using the