[This is a little abstract. If you don’t like the style of this kind of writing, don’t read it! ]

“Tough times never last but tough people do” – Robert H. Schuller

What makes life interesting is when things happen incidentally, without a scent of intention. Predications are natural. People see things in two ways. Either they know what it is or they guess what it is. This works almost every time. It is natural. It happens to everyone!

But there are times we experience something more deeper. Something without a clue. Something which is not known or could be guessed what it is. And every actions confined in this situation clashed with nature. Nature exists because it keeps order. Actually, obligatory. Like every working thing, nature also has a Manager. The only natural thing that is not fully ordered, because of freewill, is human.

Last week, I experienced a glimpse of it. I wanted a smell of my senses out of no where. I looked happiness in a wrong place. I searched my belonging from where I never placed it. I went against nature and touched the edge of unordered life. It was no of any special. It was a matter of talk. Small actions which doesn’t even have a little control of itself. Freewill without freedom. Free actions with a painful rejection and beautiful hands. Probably, mind warming confusion of taking what is not mine. Go beyond law of nature. I jumped and stayed where I was. I needed to jump again to get where I am now. I liked the jumping. It was jogging. It was dancing. It was no of reason. It was what it was. But I didn’t like where it took me. It wasn’t a place where I wanted to stay. It took another jump. And this time, it was not a jog. It was a dive. The beauty of dive is measured on the state of a matter – at least, it should be liquid.

Aha, I liked it. It was gas.

Last week, I was living with it. It made my face full of smile. I experienced half of the emotics. My life is not depend on it. So I could investigate it. I could see it outside of me. I could mange to do the alpha test. I ran it. I executed it. I closed it. I got my control back. I can play with it or just throw it into the trash. I also own the trash. I have power to eliminate it or to retrieve it. I don’t need to rush. I have plenty of time. I have enough space. I have lots of options.. Now, I have the freewill with full-freedom. It doesn’t need extra effort. I don’t have to jump to see it. It is performing just right here. Exactly where I am.

It takes only wink to communicate.
Wink!, wink!

How IT jobs are dying because of companies in the country

I have been visiting ethiojobs.net since 2006. It’s probably the only working recruitment website in Ethiopia. Vacancies are posted in a daily basis. It is not necessary to use the search option; you can click on List all vacancies. It takes less than 5 minutes to go through all the pages. Four pages, each has a maximum of 20 listings. Only 80 openings are available a day for more than 80 million people.

Let me go a little beyond the statistics. I am more concerned about the need of IT skilled people in the country. In my opinion, there is no need. I am not being sarcastic. It is very rarely to see posts with little different requirements.

I say this with poise; most organizations’ requirements for highly skilled IT professionals are insufficient. There requirements are very minimal that usually the jobs can be done easily by any IT technician with small experience.

The competitions between IT companies are not noteworthy. First off, companies use pirated software. They don’t need to develop software in their own requirement. They don’t usually have special requirements. The IT companies provide solutions using pirated software. Big companies, institutions, and organizations proudly use cracked software (e.g. take ETC, the only telecom company; Addis Ababa University (AAU), the biggest university in Ethiopia)

This is extremely bad reality for IT experts in the country. Jobs can easily be obtained by unskilled workers. Whereas, unskilled workers can effortlessly fit in the positions. Do their job very well. What is expected from them does not need better skills in the first place.

How IT jobs dying because of IT companies in Ethiopia

When there is a big circulation of pirated software, the need for software by local companies decreased. The IT companies instead of using different marketing strategies and consultancy services, they copy products and using pirated templates for their customers.

They don’t develop systems unless it is asked by the company. The IT companies don’t have a slightest interest to finance new products and try to sell it to their customers. The IT companies don’t consult private companies. They don’t possess their own products and services. Practically, they don’t have anything to sell. Most IT consultancy companies also give very common and outdated services.

In the other hand, most IT jobs suffered because of very small salaries. IT experts earn low salaries because of the amount of job expected from them.

This trend will continue for sometime.

Playing with Photoshop.

Today, I found out that one of my friends she has never been in a bank. um… really?

It is Monday and I got something to laugh about. But here is another interesting story. It is taken from www.avolites.org.uk Start the week with a good laugh!!

This is a true story from the Word Perfect Help-line which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Helpdesk employee was fired; however, he is currently suing the Word perfect organisation for “Termination without Cause.”

Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee (now we know why they record these conversations)!

“Ridge Hall computer assistance; may I help you?”

“Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.”

“What sort of trouble?”

“Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away.”

“Went away?”

“They disappeared.”

“Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.”

“Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?”

“How do I tell?”

“Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?”

“What’s a sea-prompt?”

“Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?”

“There isn’t any cursor: I told you, it won’t accept anything I type.”

“Does your monitor have a power indicator?”

“What’s a monitor?”

“It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it’s on?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s plugged into the wall.”

“Yes, it is.”

“When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?”

“No.”

“Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.”

“Okay, here it is.”

“Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.”

“I can’t reach.”

“Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?”

“No.”

“Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?”

“Oh, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle-it’s because it’s dark.”

“Dark?”

“Yes, -the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.”

“Well, turn on the office light then.”

“I can’t.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because there’s a power failure.”

“A power… A power failure? Aha, Okay, we’ve got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?”

“Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.”

“Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.”

“Really? Is it that bad?”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is.”

“Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?”

“Tell them you’re too f**k**g stupid to own a computer!”

Yes, she visited a gypsy woman. She even wanted to hear what happened in her life which she already knew. The fortunetellers tell fortune. They wish kismet for customers as long as there is money transactions. They are like kindergarten teacher who can’t teach his own children. Like a farmer who doesn’t know how to feed his own family.

Yes, she heard it properly. It made sense. She was sure the one who counted her stars didn’t create them. She hoped to hear only good things to come. She will not try to change it in that case. Sometimes, it is better to accept the bad things to come than to try to change it. It might be more painful. After all, bad things will never stop coming. Measures of bad things are measures of good things. Those are countable. Those are times which made us smile when they don’t come.

Their absence is by far exciting than their non-existence.

She doesn’t wish to count her own stars. But the fortunetellers do. Wisdom made them ordinary. The one they put their trust on doesn’t have full knowledge. Thousands of experience will help to give the best prediction. Predictions are guesses. Guesses are not certainty. This is not even thousands of experience; it is thousand years of experience.

Yes, it is a one man show. Shine with him or leave. He gives chances. She has chances. She still can leave. But there is no where to go. It doesn’t take to leave the country, not even the planet. It takes to leave the universe. The one who owns the universe also owns the village; the house; the soul.

Stop counting!

She has only one star.

Mini-buses in Ethiopia

1. They play music with very poor quality players. They never stop playing even if the speakers doesn’t produce the real sound.
2. They shout “Yemola” and stop wherever they want to add more people. But they usually hesitate to take you off.
3. They respect traffic rules only when traffic-police is around.
4. They don’t give you 5cents change no matter the price is
5. “Weyalawoch” don’t like to tell you where they will go after their next stop

Radio stations

1. They usually argue with callers to turn off their own radio. (someone once said, “it is the neighbors’”.. really? How close is your house from the neighbors?)
2. They cut a playing music for advertisements.
3. The presenters mix languages.
4. They don’t play metal music. (may be , Afro105.2 FM)
5. They usually air same programs in the same time.

Miscellaneous

1. Security: Women can usually pass without checking.
2. “Passion for bureaucracy”: you need to have a rubber stamp wherever you go . Check this article!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8189145.stm )
3. AAU guards order you to get out of your car for checking. But they don’t check the car. (If you bring a tank, they will only check you and give you a pass 🙂
4. Most restaurants they don’t place toilet papers in the toilets.
5. Bars play music too loud that you can’t talk inside. TVs are always mute.

It is where hundreds of people passing by everyday. Children play in the side. Taxi drivers are resting inside their car and waiting for customers. It is actually called stadium.

What you can see in there will give you a glance of the general public.

I wasn’t shocked to see guys peeing in the side of the road. It is absolutely ok. Throwing the cover of the fruit is as common as eating it. You can even toss your dead animals. It is your social responsibility to feed the street kids together with their dogs – they are family. Usually, families dine together.

Some people say social responsibility comes with modern life. Others say it is a general behavior of a certain society. In both ways, I don’t see it with most Ethiopian citizens. If not, both undeveloped life and the collective behavior of the society certainly have problems. Schools on the side should spend lots of time shaping the behavior of the society.  Responsible living should come before quadratic equation in any possible life calculations.

This will help.

• Shift the blames from the government to the society. The government came out of the society
• Move the blames from the leaders to the society. Leaders indeed part of the society
• Professors, students, waitress, comedians, engineers, priests should take the blame as part of the society.

Unless, ……..

Country means the people.

Requiring service from others means giving service for another

Asking questions means having answers for others

No means no for everyone

It is just a sad story.

No, they don’t make toasters!

I was 15 minutes late. To start with, I didn’t even listen to “the day’s theme” which was obviously easy to guess because everyone had to say something about it in round.

My turn, I stood up.

“I like to pay my own bills. I am not as comfortable to pay other’s bill as others trying to pay for me.” I didn’t hesitate to tell my name and where I am working.

It was a refreshing topic for people who are living in very traditional society. Meetings of friends, families and social interactions in a restaurant, bar, public transportation end in a very predictable manner – quarrel. A genuine competition of taking honor of paying for others.

For some time, until everyone says something, curiosity feels the room to know what the next person remarks. This is the beauty of these kinds of social meetings. One likes to show his skills piercingly.

Presentations were carried out. Evaluators evaluated the speakers. The timer counted the ticks. The chairman left his chair to speak up behind the pulpit. As one of the guest participants, I used my ears mostly.

But I didn’t leave the room with wow. – I shouldn’t have!

Below standard speeches, extreme encouragements (extreme encouragements are not good encouragements), a relatively disturbing clapping for highly interactive meeting and few boring speech topics boringly performed.

Please, make toasters!