Data Loss, Laptop Woes

As I write this post the first thing that comes to my mind is "what is dead shall never die but rises again harder and stronger". But alas this was not the case in my story, mine is a sad tale that holds no happy endings and should stand as a warning that technology like everything else will eventually fail you so you better be ready when it does least you fall victim to data loss of the worst kind.

I had been browsing the net as I do before I drift off to lala land, my now late night catching up with anime and all seemed well with my old and trusted device. I shut it as I usually do and well, didn't think much of it. A day passed and late at night as I sat down to prowl the web as I usually do something funny happened, the laptop got stuck in the boot loop simply showing the Laptop logo. I thought that I simply needed to shut the machine off and on again since it had done this once or twice before (now that I think about it I should have taken this as a warning to start backing up things *sigh*, live and learn)

I tried this about 5 times before I slowly started to go into a panic. In 30 minutes I was frantically scouring the net try to find ways to revive a dead hard disk (this is totally different from a crashed one). By 1 am I had only succeed in assuring myself that the problem was not the laptop but the hard disk. I retired to bed around 2 am, deciding to try place the wretched device in the deep freezer. From an article I read somewhere it was supposed to be a remedy but alas, this served to do nothing but give false hope.

I was forced to resume research and upon reading more I discovered that tests done by BackBlaze on the life span on hard disks suggest that they usually last around 4 years before the failure rate increases by about 12% per year(I think this is for the seagate model). In hind sight I should have done this earlier but what's done is done and data lost... so much data, though I'm not willing to spend money to recover data, just not happening. So now I have resorted to vowing that anything I deem important goes to the cloud, I have about 65G up there might as well use it before I lose it.

So to you who has their old laptop and are hesitant slow to backup, your day is coming and trust me it had better find you with a recent backup otherwise you will have much to lose, I'm just sayinG

3D , Why bother

I still remember my first experience with a 3D movie and honestly, it was horrible. The Pirates of the Caribbean 3 had just come out and I think at the time only Sarit Center was showing the movie in 3D. It was all the fad and not wanting to be left behind being techno-savvy and what not I of course showed up on the premier weekend to soak in the awesomeness of Johnny Depp (No homo) wait , do people still say that or did it die a natural death like the show that spawned it.

That's besides the point, so I get there all excited and the cashier asks whether I want a front row seat or... the balcony. My face twists in fascination cause in my mind I'm picturing this secluded both atop the cinema from where I can look down upon the masses and wave. Rude shock alter, the balcony is a row of squeezed seats, heck even a matatu has more space that those so called balcony seats that cost a little extra (should have just bought popcorn).

The movie finally starts and I come to a realization, I really like 2D movies. The setup of the so called 3D movie is so that and image overlays another image to give an illusion of 3 dimensional object (epic fail FYI). Realizing I can't see diddly squat because of these overlays I take of the glasses, what's the worst that can happen right?

Fast forward 2 hrs and 20 minutes later as we are leaving the cinema hall and boom, a super migraine with vomiting and dizziness to boot. I barely made it home in one peace and continued to reel from the effects for at least another 12hrs.

So the Avengers movie recently came out and would you believe it, only available in 3D. I had to watch it but didn't stop me from cursing occasionally because of all the action scenes I kept missing because of the  3D effect. If you ask me, this must be the stupid invention anyone ever came up with, if I want to see 3D then I will look at the objects around me thank you very much. Its not a surprise the TV's didn't sell very well and yet people still make movies in 3D. Sometimes I really wonder about humanity and whether or not we truly are rational beings. Just SayinG

My Little Addiction

Its almost 3am , I reach over for my phone eager to see if the troops and ready for battle. It seems I have become an addict to this fad of clash of clans. Its been about two weeks and I honestly think I've spent over 120hrs of my precious life trying to gain victories that hold no true value but then again not everything in life can hold value, right?


I had dismissed the game for long enough but due to a recent turn of events I found myself perusing apps on the Google play store and I thought to myself, why not give it a try, I had nothing to lose anyway. This has only equated to me spending countless hours watching timers count down so I can unlock more troops or gain elixir and gold much faster.

This got me thinking on the way we start to develop addictions, I once read that it takes 21 days to either acquire an addiction or break from one (don't take my word for it). I am yet to reach that day 21 but it is my belief that my fascination with this game compares to a new sound track that I will listen to over and over until it'll just stop being fun (I hope).

I'm starting to regret downloading that game but I know like cake, all good things must come to an end(Big fan of cake, big fan). So as I begin this new week I will try to slowly wean myself off the game by setting constructions that last more than 12 hours lol.

In conclusion ,if you're looking for something to pass the time and you don't mind a little addiction then to you I say play, play to your hearts content and I will see you on the flip side. Just SayinG

A New Way to Call

It's been a minute, I know but honestly I've been a little out of it for the last couple months given that I have been working hard to finish up with this never ending 8-4-4 system. (working hard being a relative term here). Funny enough I should be reading for an exam right now but then again, I love to live dangerously lol.

As you may or may not know, I'm a big fan of tech and all the little excitements that come with it. So recently I got myself on the Android Lollipop bandwagon, spotting Resurrection remix on my fairly outdated Note 2 (It felt almost brand new for like the first two weeks, almost). I had to root and update of course given that there is no way I was waiting for a bloated version from Samsung that would end up arriving somewhere closer to the middle of NEVER. Truth be told I am loving the new material design,its... so beautiful. Full disclaimer, if you do choose to go the rooting and flashing way you will lose your warranty and if your not a pro like myself (yeah, I said it) you run the risk of bricking your phone.

 Back the beautiful material design... You know what, I'll show you

Isn't it breath taking ? for more you can hop on here and just immerse yourself. Like just really dive into that gorgeousness. But as usual I digress from the story at hand, so in my internet travels I stumbled upon the new WhatsApp call feature a while back. I was so excited and for days I tried to find a way to get myself on the bandwagon of call enabled clients but alas my fortunes were not aligned. That all changed to day, I was doing but regular searches to keep me updated with the world of tech when I stumbled on this nice thread on XDA. At first I was skeptical but then I said what the hell, I've got nothing to lose anyway so wham bam and Bob's your uncle I got a call from code name Surya57.

 I have been calling guys left, right and of course center trying to get them to join me on this VoIP experience from WhatsApp but it seems most people don't get what I'm talking about. So essentially you can now make calls from whatsapp to whatsapp and the interface should look somewhat similar to what I have below (can't risk showing my actual contact list, #teamMafisi is always lurking).

So if you're a tech fan and an  early adopter like myself (an emoji would be so appropriate here). Check out the xda thread and tell me what you think. Keep in mind this is not the official release so there will be some bugs, this to be expected of any new system. Just have an open mind about the prospects of the technology at hand.

PS. Don't forget to thank the guy on the thread.

I'm just SayinG.

Selfishness is Life Saving

For the most part I would argue against this title, especially given how selfishness has led our country to the dogs. Starting from the endless spats of insecurity to the recent rise and fall of less than standard building in mid to low income areas and the never ending menace that is corruption. And for most of that argument I would be right, this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm seated here alone with no one to oppose me. But that got me thinking, if we were to be truly selfless in our actions, how would the end result affect us as an individual in our own right?

Just for a moment think about it,someone needs food, you give them some because it is the right thing to do. You see a burning building, you rush in to try help giving no regard to your own safety. See a fight, you play the peacemaker even if it means taking a few blows to the old noggin (Been there and honestly never again). An old lady trying to cross the road, you help her because who wouldn't help her?

This is the point where I raise my hand all shy like, knowing what I'm saying goes against every societal norm ever taught but I say , gotta look out for number one. Not to sound mean but old folks have a tendency to miss that spring in their step and on busy roads where the ever careless Kenyan drivers fail to reduce their speeds (so much for speed limits) , I don't want to find myself on the wrong side of those speed demons. All it takes is a fraction of a second and a simple walk across the road becomes an eternal  rest six feet below. As I have always suggested, at our core we are set to self preservation unless you're trying to save a baby because I mean, babies are super cute and cuddly. 

A persons good-nature is always taken advantage of and its high time we stop trying to justify this by saying its better to give than to receive. If that was the case then everyone would be a giver, but the truth of the matter is that we all love to stretch out our hands to receive AKA handouts. No person ever made it in life because they loved to give, lets be real. The shroud nature of business revolves around the notion that we must guard what we have jealously in order to attain more and I agree. Until you value what you have enough not to want to share then you don't understand what loss is, just SayinG